Museum Collections

From baby shoes to death masks, museum collections preserve and tell the stories of all of Atlanta and the region … and often beyond! With over 40,000 artifacts as small as a needle & thread, but as large as the Texas locomotive, visitors see – and often touch – the past. With that much stuff, we need organize it! Our collections are divided into four key subject areas to help us keep track of it and allow you to see it: Urban History & Culture; Folklife, Decorative Arts & Material Culture; Fashion, Textiles & Social History; and Civil War & Military History.

Learn more about our collections by exploring the collecting areas below. Be sure to check out our behind-the-scenes collections tour to venture into our holdings and even touch some of the artifacts - with gloves of course.